Canada Masters

Infobox joint Tennis Tournament
Name = Rogers Cup
Current =

Logo_size = 150px
City = Montreal & Toronto
Country = CAN
Venue = Stade Uniprix & Rexall Centre
Surface = Hard / Outdoors
Web_site = http://www.rogerscup.com/portal/default.asp
Notes =
ATP_Category = Masters Series
ATP_Draw = 56S / 32Q / 24D
ATP_Prize_Money = US$2,450,000
WTA_Tier = Tier I
WTA_Draw = 56M / 48Q / 28D
WTA_Prize_Money = US$1,340,000

The Canada Masters (also long known as the Canadian Open), currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is an ATP Masters Series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour. The women's competition is a Tier 1 event on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour. The competition is played on hard courts.

The two competitions are currently held in separate weeks in the July-August period. The events alternate from year-to-year between the cities of Montreal and Toronto. In odd-numbered years, the men's tournament is held in Montréal, while the women's tournament is held in Toronto, and "vice-versa" in even-numbered years.

The current singles champions are Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina.

History

The event has a long and illustrious history. The men's tournament began in 1881, and the women's competition was first held in 1892. Of the major tennis tournaments in the world today, only Wimbledon and the US Open have been around as long.

The 1989 tournament was memorable because two Canadian tennis players, Grant Connell and Andrew Sznajder, had reached the quarter-finals of the event. Both were eliminated by Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi during that round. Lendl went on to beat Agassi in the semis and then win the tournament over John McEnroe. Lendl was the tournament's most successful player of all-time, reaching the final nine times and walking away with titles in 1980, '81, '83, '87, '88 and '89. As a result, journalists coined the term "Lendl Loving Canada".

Du Maurier from 1997-2000 and prior to Player's Limited, two tobacco brands, sponsored the event, however federal legislation then came into effect that banned tobacco advertising. Rogers took over as the new presenting sponsor.

The tournament has recently been moved to just before the US Open grand slam. While the ATP has mandated participation for the men's tournament, the WTA has no such requirement. Consequently, the Rogers Cup has suffered in recent years due to the absence of top players such as the Williams sisters and Sharapova who often opt to sit out (claiming injury) and rest for the upcoming US Open.

Currently, the Toronto tournament is held at the Rexall Centre, York University. There is not a "presenting" sponsor for the 2008 tournament in Toronto. The Montreal tournament is held at the Stade Uniprix and "presented" by National Bank of Canada.

Future

Starting in 2009, the Rogers Cup will become a "1000-level" series event, replacing the Masters Series title. As a "1000-level" event, the Rogers Cup will attract a mandatory player field and is backed by new rules and sanctions. The women's tournament will also go under major changes, that will improve player turnout, by adding player fines and suspensions just to name a few. Player turnout has been an ongoing problem for both the Rogers Cup and the WTA. In 2011, the Rogers Cup will go under another major transformation, that will make both the men's and women's tournaments run in the same week.

Event titles

Women's Singles finals (since 1980)

Women's Doubles finals (since 2001)

Doubles champions (1982-2000)

External links

* [http://www.rogerscup.com Official website]
* [http://www3.rogerscup.com/men/english/home.php Official website - men's tournament]
* [http://www.rogerscup.com/1/en/home/ Official website - women's tournament]
* [http://www.stadeuniprix.com/ Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada]
* [http://tor.tenniscanada.ca/rexall/ Rexall Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada]
* [http://www.rogerscup.com/3/en/news/2007/mixte.asp Rogers Cup News, Level 1000 Tournaments]